Time's Up
by Kairi21
Summary: Sometimes, the comic relief characters are the deepest of them all. Today, fate has finally decided to give one the happy ending she deserves. Warning: Contains copious amounts of drama, angst and coarse language. No likey, no clicky.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Names of places or characters used in this story are completely fictional, any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events and places is purely coincidental. Threads of Fate/Dewprism belongs to it's creators at Square Enix (Squenix), formerly known as SquareSoft.

Warning: This piece of work is rated for some heavy duty angsting and course language which may not be suitable for individuals under the age of 16 (at least in my country). If potty mouths, bad language and drama offends you, please click the back button on your browser now. You have been warned.

Teaser: Are you still with her? Are you happy at this very moment? I hope you are, you bastard.

"Mint?!" A smooth voice beckons me away from my dark thoughts. Hn, it seems I've become more like Rue than I intended to.

Isn't that just fuckin' hilarious?

I turn from the ship's rails and come face to face with the most beautiful sight I've laid my gaze upon since my voyage began months ago.

Wow, he's grown. A lot.

"Well shit. This's awkward."

"We weren't ever supposed to bump into each other again."

Title: **Time's Up**

***********

_Dearest Rue,_

_It's been two months since I've last attempted to write to you and a month since I've heard from you last. Do not worry, your letters have made it safely to me. Maya's kindly offered to use what's left of the energy in the Book of Cosmos to establish a small magical connection between my Haloes and the castle. It isn't strong enough to detect my whereabouts, but it is sufficient to send small objects from one side to the other. Just keep sending your letters there and they will have them forwarded to me as often as they can._

_It has been three years since you and I have defeated Valen. That makes thirty-six months since you made your dreams come true and twenty-five since we set out together that I may do the same – twenty-four since we "failed" to do so._

_Were Claire and Ruenis surprised to find you home after just a month? I told you to get lost after we stood and watched the Ephlesian atelier crumble to pieces under it's own guardian's fall. Nothing was to be there after days and days of digging and the atelier guardian was the last straw. I made a show of snapping spectacularly, as I always do, and fooled both Klaus and you into thinking the [relic] was nothing but a rumor after all._

_Heh, I guess I was a little too harsh huh? Of course, if I didn't act like I was furious, I knew you would never leave me alone. You're too damn nice for your own good, y'know that? Then I'd never be able to keep the [relic] to myself. To my great relief, you bought it._

_Hook, line and sucker._

_It's been roughly seven hundred twenty days since I had Rod fly the lot of us back home on his Pulsar-Inferno-Typhoon-Alpha, the family-sized red speed demon. It wasn't as fast but it got everyone there much faster than any friggin' boat can._

_And I still think the PINTO had more of a ring to it._

_Just thirty minutes after we reached Carona, I ran to the lake ruins to meet Belle and Duke. I wasn't going to make the same mistake of plotting with them in the tavern ever again. The old bag had always developed a bad case of loose lips after chugging down a mug of ale or two and the man simply had a screw loose in his head. Plus, that was probably the first place you'd look for me had you noticed my sudden absence._

_Two days later, I had them fly me back to Ephlesia on the Hexagon. We went back to the catacombs I hid the Ephlesian [relic] in. The agreement was that I got one wish granted and then the artifact was theirs to do with as they pleased provided my wish wasn't revoked or tampered with in any manner whatsoever._

_That was thirty-eight hours after I failed to see you off at the docks of Carona town, before you left to go back to __**her**__. I've never made an effort to hide my distaste for the woman every time the topics of our late night conversations at the desert town's inn would go in that direction and I still don't really give a damn about her. Or you. Okay, maybe I'm lying._

_I cared. I still do. I care too much. I couldn't keep my mind from wandering back to those docks that smelled of the sea and fish as I lead the hag and her crony down the dimly lit tunnels of the forgotten city hidden below the atelier. The one I purposely didn't tell you or Klaus about._

_Two thousand two hundred and eighty minutes since I broke the seal I left to keep other adventurers from finding my hidden [relic] and I couldn't seem to get my breathing under control. I think that makes one hundred thirty six thousand eight hundred seconds since I made a wish that changed my life forever, with nothing but your smile on my mind – a wish that no one who knew me then could have ever expected me to make._

_Now, time doesn't really matter to me anymore._

_I gave the [relic] to Belle and Duke as promised and unsurprisingly, both treasure hunters were at a loss for words. I didn't really know what to tell them either. The entire journey was a complete gamble on the powers of a relic we weren't certain existed and my apologies for any losses weren't necessary. Still, I don't think they were speechless due to my lack of etiquette but because of something else. Thankfully, the two were wise enough to keep mum on the subject and just carry on as if nothing happened. Business, as usual._

_Unfortunately, the Ephlesian [relic] was but a mere prototype Valen made for the actual DewPrism and was nowhere as powerful. I suppose I used up all of it's magical energy with the complexity of the wish I had granted and the article I handed to the pair of vagrants was nothing but a shell of it's former glory._

_Still, they managed to gain a generous amount of gold from selling the thing off to some wealthy archeologist and from what I've heard, they've been living comfortably somewhere in the Eastern region ever since. I chose to travel alone after we decided to part ways._

_I knew then that I could no longer return to East Heaven. Not the way I was._

_So I've decided to traverse the world instead. In fact, I'm currently on board a ship bound to the trading city of Ixpen on the coast of the Western region. I was running low on my food supply and decided to check out the exotic dishes the city is famed for. I may have lost my tyrannical tendencies, but I still enjoy the occasional food tripping._

_Hn. It seems the task of recalling all these events has helped me forget about my seasickness – the reason that drew me on deck in the fist place. In fact, all this writing has left me a tad hungry. I better check what's cooking down in the kitchens later._

_Rue, it's been five years since I first left the Kingdom to seek revenge upon my sister. That makes sixty months since I first met you in the fields with Elena's parents. Around, one thousand eight hundred days since I gained your trust and betrayed it – twice, including the last time._

_Forty three thousand two hundred hours have elapsed since I vowed to trust no one but myself and broke that oath the moment I met a weirdo with a funny green hat in a small town called Carona._

_Two million five hundred ninety two thousand minutes have passed by since I made my first real friend and for once, helped someone other than myself – no matter how reluctant my actions were._

_That amounts to one hundred fifty five million, five hundred twenty thousand seconds that I've spent falling – and being in love with you._

_Although I must admit, I only realized that last bit today._

_I've always wondered what you would say should one day, heaven forbid, we'd meet again. I know it goes against your nature to absolutely hate anyone and for that I'm thankful._

_Would you thank me? I hope not. I find it rather ridiculous that the first selfless wish I've ever made was my most selfish one yet._

_Are you still with her? Are you happy at this very moment? I hope you are, you bastard. Else, my wish would've been for naught._

_I hope you grow old surrounded by the ones you love – even if I know I'm least likely to be one of them._

_I'm not ashamed to admit, that I've failed once again. Five long years have come and gone since I've set off on this wild goose chase for power and I'm still nowhere near being Queen of the World. I've lost yet a little more of my pride. I fucked up – royally._

_I suppose it's because I know these words would never find their way to you. I'm throwing this letter away, just as I did the other twenty times I attempted to write a proper explanation to you within the past two months._

_It's a shame really. I act brave but I would always be too much of a damn coward to send these to you. What more drop by to pay you a visit. Of course, I can't._

_Not since I –_

***********

"Mint?!"

I take a tentative step closer to the figure I've been watching for hours now. The one who wrote the crumpled letter I've picked up from the deck's floor.

Of course, I have a high chance of being wrong. If I am mistaken, this wouldn't be the first time.

It's been a while since Mint vanished without so much as a goodbye and I fear I've started going mad after that. Mad with guilt or some other feeling I couldn't quite name. I've always had problems dealing with these emotions even before the defeat of Valen. Claire was the only one who ever understood my trouble with comprehending most elements of being human and I suppose she was the only one I ever truly trusted back then.

Until I met a certain free-spirited bossy princess.

It's taken me a while to realize the feelings I had for her are different from those I hold for Claire. They were much more powerful, threatening and yet intoxicating.

My days after her sudden disappearance have been unsettling, surreal, and things have gotten worse since then. Frequently I found myself losing touch with the world around me and the feeling of dread that clawed it's way into the darkest corners of my heart would rear its menacing head more and more often.

And then I woke to find myself… human one morning. I've since then developed the nervous habit of brushing my fingers over my forehead, to assure myself that I wasn't just having another one of my recurrent nightmares.

It still disturbs me to find nothing but smooth skin there, every time.

It got so bad that Claire and Ruenis had to kick me out of the house and force me to find the answers they knew I needed. I was aware then that I'd never be able to live in peace without conclusion to these troubling thoughts. And so, I decided to once more take up my Arc Edge and set out on yet another journey since the one in Ephlesia.

This time, it's to find Mint.

***********

"Mint?!" A gentle voice beckons me away from my dark thoughts. Hn, it seems I've become more like Rue than I intended to.

Isn't that just fuckin' hilarious?

I turn from the ship's rails and come face to face with the most beautiful sight I've laid my gaze upon since my voyage began months ago.

A young man dressed in clothes that would look ridiculous on anyone else but him is staring at me as if it was the first time he'd seen a girl on a ship before. A green hat sits atop his unusual silver hair, it's yellow ribbons flowing in the wind just above the neat ponytail behind his head.

A pair of mismatched boots and a large red axe-like weapon strapped to the familiar stranger's back help him stand out from the crowd even more.

But what captures me so completely are those soulful soft brown eyes – those never ending pools of emotion set upon his look of incredulity. If the situation were any different, I would have ended up laughing my head off. The look on his face was too damn funny to describe in words.

Wow, he's grown – a lot.

"Well shit. This's awkward." I counter the pained expression on his face with a well-practiced fake grin.

He suddenly kneels down and seizes me into a crushing hug, burying his face into the curve where my neck meets my shoulder. I'm almost too surprised to realize that the wetness I'm feeling there are his tears as we stand in close proximity on the ship's thankfully deserted deck.

"We weren't ever supposed to bump into each other again." Is all I could manage to choke out before throwing a bitter look to the slowly darkening sky. Half in anger, mostly to keep my own tears from spilling over my cheeks.

I hated crying then and I still hate it now.

Slowly, I wrap my trembling arms around him to make up for the weakness I'm beginning to feel in my knees. My blood red bangs slip to either side of my anguished face and the last rays of the dying day are refracted by the tiny jewel embedded at the center of my forehead.

What a sight we must be. A doll trapped in the crushing grip of a young man, surrounded by a myriad of brilliant colors of the rainbow.

Ah fate is a fickle tease indeed. Here I was just about to count down the years 'til I got my own happy ending since I figured I had the rest of eternity to do so when… BAM!

"I found you. I c-cant believe I finally found you." I hear his breath catch in his throat as he struggles to hold back a shuddering sob to allow him to speak.

As gently as my numbing fingers could, I lift his face towards mine and plant my trembling lips upon his.

"Guess your search is finally over huh?"

Heh. Looks like my time's up.

~Owari~


	2. Omake Chapter 1

**Genre:** Humor/Romance

**Pairing:** Rue x Mint (if you squint really hard)

Authors Notes: Okay, this was typed, edited and uploaded while I'm sitting at work so I cannot guarantee the absence of typos or redundacy since I have yet to proofread the document (for a third time).

Nonetheless I have to make up for my uber long disappearance and so I present to you (if anyone is reading this at all)...

**Time's Up: **Omake Chapter 1

Ixpen, the booming city of traders and merchants, always had its place in every self-respecting adventurer's list of place to go.

Nestled in the coast of the Western Continent between the West Heaven region and the City of Ephlesia, Ixpen has always been a flower thriving beautifully in the Western Desert's sands. Its strategic position in the midst of the continent's most powerful Kingdom and the ancient Ephlesian ruins has imbibed the city with one of the richest histories since the late Aeonic era during the times of the great Magi wars.

As a result, the once quiet trading post has exploded into the center of activity in the continent. It is a melting pot of culture, teeming with tourists, aristocrats, diplomats, nobles, and wealthy merchants.

Posted along the city's borders are soldiers from the West Heaven Kingdom, tasked with the strict regulation of imports and exports of goods and merchandise from Ixpen to the Kingdom. In fact, a fair portion of the city known as the "Desert Oasis" to the locals is actually owned and operated by West Heaven's sellers and traders.

The West Heaven Kingdom is one of the world's top producers of magical items such as potions and enchanted apparel. Among these are the recently popular hover boots designed to pedestrians from sinking into the hot desert sands.

West Heaven is also a leader in magical mechanics and engineering. Ships and boats specifically built to cruise across the Western Desert have been bringing diplomatic escorts, palace accredited merchants and even the royal family back and forth through the kingdom and Ephlesia.

The Kingdom's current ruler is a business tycoon among his peers, a revered archeologist, and an inventor at heart. This is the reason West Heaven Kingdom is much more technologically advanced yet weaker in the magical arts than it's Eastern counterpart.

His eldest son, next in line to the throne, was groomed for his world of business and exploits in the field of science. He frequents the bustling metropolis of Ixpen in preparation for the turnover of his father's crown and the responsibilities that come with it.

Today however, the prince has more than the usual business meeting included in his agenda.

Prince Ismayl is scheduled to dine with the East Heaven Kingdom's newest ruler, Queen Maya, tonight. His presence is required to promote West Heaven's good will upon the East continent's interests in expanding its commercial territory.

Technologically advanced or not, East Heaven Kingdom sure knew how to pick their rulers. Not even a year into Queen Maya's reign, the Kingdom has already expanded exponentially, growing almost triple its size in land area. Despite initial doubts, Mint's younger sibling had certainly come a long way from depending on the royal family's heirloom as her source of strength.

Not long after their return to the kingdom, Maya immediately dove into her academics. She took up a number of advanced classes focused on the history of the Ancients and Archeology with the influence of Professor Klaus and his family. In fact, one of her first exploits into the field of archeology lead to the discovery of another Doll of Valen. The boy named Ruenis now lives with Rue and Claire in their little cabin, located in the wilderness a few miles away from the Kingdom.

It was also on one such expedition when Maya's dear sister had decided to embark on yet another [relic] hunt of her own. The young Queen would never forget how angry she was to arrive home only to find out that her sister had once again run off, and all the way to the Western Continent too.

Not to say that she was sorely missed, but the kingdom fell back into its dormancy for the first two weeks of the absence of their prodigal princess. Maya was thankful she had the royal council keeping her busy with the amount of preparations required for her coronation so much that she was barely bothered by the odd moments of dead silence during her periods of rest.

The lack of a stir only began to become unbearable a day before the royal ceremony took place. The occasional correspondence with Mint through mail had stopped around that time.

Sure to disappoint, her sister was nowhere to be found in the crowd of faceless royals and officials who came for Maya's official ascent into the throne of East Heaven. The young Queen's deep-seated worry bloomed into sharp spikes of panic as she read Rue's letter, addressed to Mint, only two weeks after the kingdom's turnover.

"_How are things there in East Heaven?"_ He asked in his letter.

Rue's letter told the story of the shocked reactions he got from Claire and Ruenis upon returning home, a mere month after the departure for the Western Desert. The letter also expressed the Doll's confusion for Mint's apparent lack notification that she had left Carona. Later bits of the message contained his regret for the failure of the Ephlesian quest and an offer to visit for plans of another [relic] hunt. It seemed like Rue took the princess' words about owing her a [relic] seriously. Either that or he really did miss the bossy redhead. But more importantly, Rue's letter contained questions about what being the co-ruler of East Heaven Kingdom was like. The implications were clear.

Mint was supposed to have arrived home at least a few weeks ago.

The letter had confirmed Maya's growing suspicions and none of them boded well with the young Queen's feelings.

First, her sister had once again gone amuck and had no intentions of returning to East Heaven anytime soon.

Second, Rue was not with Mint anymore and therefore no one was there to keep her elder sister from doing something incredibly stupid – again. As was to be expected of East Heaven's "royal pain", and…

Third, her dear sister was out there – alone.

The last thought weighed the heaviest on the young ruler's mind although the first two would indeed prove to be problematic. It no doubt, gnawed on the edges of Maya's sanity.

If the mess with Valen had taught the young Queen anything at all it was that she truly did care about her sibling. Sitting on the floor of a crumbling fortress, precariously positioned in the sky, with Mint was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences of Maya's life.

She could not fathom until now how the thought of dying with Mint seemed to settle with her much more comfortably than the thought of finally being free from the presence of the one person who always managed to get under her skin and make her lose her temper.

It took Maya one major headache, two long years and three threats to the Kingdom's royal duty (Mint included in list of said threats), to realize that life was absolutely boring without the presence of her dear sister.

Perhaps this was also the reason the Queen still brought the Book of Cosmos around with her nowadays. No words could describe the amount of relief that flooded the younger sister's heart when the small connection she established with the Book's remaining energy yielded a short, hastily written letter.

Two words scrolled in Mint's nearly impossible to decipher handwriting triggered Maya's long forgotten attachment to the inactive Aeon [relic] once again.

"_I'm alive." _It read.

Word was soon sent to Rue who had by then heard of the redhead's mysterious disappearance. The Queen, encouraged by the simplest of things such as badly written note, began pursuing the effective administration of the Kingdom with much more vigilance than before.

Diplomatic visits to other nations brought the once closed and strictly traditional Kingdom into the new age of modernization. Slowly, the developments in the Eastern Continent began to catch up with those in the Northern and Southern region of the globe. Soon, with the Queen's correspondence with the West Heaven Kigdom in the Western Continent, East Heaven will become the perfect fusion of the traditional and the contemporary.

Oh if only Mint could see her now, as she sat to dinner with Prince Ismayl and members of the Royal Council of West Heaven, the Book of Cosmos neatly upon her lap, discussing the possibility of reviving ancient magical transport and infrastructure.

Yet another night of conversations about politics, business and developments in unlocking ancient Magi technology. Just another night she spent fulfilling the duties of a Queen. And such a lovely ruler Maya was too – the perfect picture of beauty, grace, poise…

"Excuse me your Highness." whispered the old court adviser into her Majesty's ear.

"What is it?" The Queen excused herself from the conversation, turning her attention to the man she and her sister affectionately knew as Gramps.

The melodic symphony being played by the world renowned orchestra of West Heaven Kingdom wafted through every corner of the grandly furnished restaurant as the night wore on in the city of Ixpen. Down below, in the streets of the "Desert Oasis", people from all walks of life milled through the marketplaces of the trading city and ships from every corner of the world approached the ever busy city's docks.

"My goodness!" the Queen suddenly exclaimed.

The sharp sound of the restaurant's expensive glassware and fine cutlery hitting the floor sliced through the relaxing atmosphere in the room as the Queen of East Heaven Kingdom abruptly stood from her side of the royally furnished table.

"FIVE HUNDRED MILLION GOLD AS PAYMENT FOR WHAT?!" she said, eyes ablaze in a mixture of shock and rage.

The Queen suddenly reminded Gramps of someone else. Someone he thought their Kingdom had finally been rid of…

"MIIIIIIIINT!!!"

The court adviser held his face and sighed into his tired old hands. Silently, he added 'Anti-influenced aggression therapy classes' to the young Queen's list of scheduled activities for the month.

**TBC**


	3. Omake Chapter 2

**Genre:** Humor/Romance

**Pairing:** Rue x Mint, Narcius x Kirielle (if you squint really hard)

**Authors Note: **Once again, this was typed, edited, and uploaded while I sit here at work. I cannot guarantee the absence of typos, grammatical errors and redundancy. I shall exert all efforts to clean this up as soon as I get the time but for now, enjoy…

**Time's Up:** Omake Chapter 2

A few nautical miles away from Ixpen's docks, aboard a passenger ship traveling across the Coral sea, stood one very angry future queen of the world. On the deck of The Siren sat a silver-haired youth who seemed to be just a little out of breath.

Bothe were drenched for head to foot and slightly shivering from their little night swim. Ruby red bangs plastered to the crystal at the center of her forehead and eyes shining dangerously, Mint shook a vengeful fist in the direction she was facing.

"WHAT THE FUCK PORCUPINE?!" She bellowed.

Also on The Siren's deck were three figures clad in hooded cloaks. One stood to the side with his eyes closed and lips curved in an amused smile. His platinum blonde hair was held back in three neat ponytails behind his head and the air that surrounded him seemed to stand still in a dead calm – serene as the smile on his peaceful features.

Next to the man was a busty young woman with her slender arms wrapped around her delicate frame. Unlike her companion, her beautiful face was contorted in laughter and her ample chest jiggled with every wave of her bursting chuckles.

A few steps from where she stood, a man sat in a most peculiar position on the ship's cold wooden floor. His palms were planted on either side of his body and his legs were splayed far apart to avoid contact with the giant silver and red axe that found itself lodged into the damp floorboards in between them.

Beads of sweat trickled down his face, frozen in abject horror as the Arc Edge's blade came just a few millimeters short of "de-manning" him - damned close for comfort. His hair, gravity-defying angry red spikes sticking out into the frigid night air, seemed to highlight the man's moment of terror.

"DAMMIT RED! WHA'DYA GO AND DO THAT FOR HUH?!" He managed to yell back at the enraged ex-princess.

Rue speechlessly watched as the pair got into another heated verbal battle. His frantically beating heart refused to slow down and his mint went into hyper drive, trying to process all that has just happened.

_He had found Mint._

He seized the girl into a hug and then…

_and then she kissed him._

And the world around them stopped and an eternity stretched on in what the silver-haired youth expects was the time it took for his body functions and brain processes to go back online.

His recovery was unfortunately too late when he heard a small click coming from under his feet and the warm body pressed up to his own. His instincts had screamed at him to jump out of the way but his arms wouldn't move –refused to let go. Partly because he didn't want to stop, mostly because he didn't want Mint to get hurt. He'd never allow anyone, Mint especially, to meet harm while he was around. Never again.

But then, before the explosion could so much as fry the soles of his mismatched boots, he was airborne. Suddenly, the world was a mess of white brown and blue - sky, wood and sea, in that order. And then there was nothing but the darkness threatening to suffocate him as it engulfed his slowly numbing body.

The blast had knocked the wind out of his burning lungs and the Arc Edge's weight on his back made it impossible to battle the fierce waves caused by the passing ship's rudder. With a cold sense of dread, the young man realized that it was the end.

He was going to drown.

And then he saw Mint. Her gem, the Dewcrystal on her forehead, exploded into color down in the depths of the inky blackness encasing them. Her hand reached out for his and her hair, like flames dancing in the night, drew his gaze to the threat burning in the girl's eyes.

"_Don't you dare give up on me!"_ they told him.

The moment her small digits grasped his own, a blinding gold light wrapped itself around them and they were back on the ship. Drenched and shivering, but safe.

A few seconds passed before, in one surprising display of brute strength, the ex-princess lifted the Arc Edge from its case on Rue's back and swung the blade heavily downward. The savage attack barely missed the man sitting opposite them, the man responsible for the explosion – Trap Master.

"ALL I'M SAYIN' IS WE CAME OUT 'ERE TO SEE THIS PUNK ALL OVER 'YA!"

"HAS IT OCCURRED TO YOU THAT MAYBE, I WAS ENJOYING IT?"

The continuous screaming brought Rue's thoughts back to the steadily escalating fight before him. The anger in the tones of the two were dangerously bordering murderous.

"HA! THAT'S BULL! 'YA WERE BAWLIN' 'YER EYES OUT LIKE A BABY!" The man accused.

"THOSE WERE TEARS OF JOY YOU IDIOT!" the girl countered.

By that point, both redheads were facing off - shouting, cussing, and stomping after unleashing a number of slashes and explosions at each other. Mint's haloes orbited her spell casting arm and Trap Master's fingers were toying with invisible bombs hidden under his dark cloak.

Just before any more damage could be dealt to The Siren's wrecked woodwork, Psycho Master and Mode Master decided to step forward to cool the raging flames of the heated argument.

"That would be quite enough from the both of you." Karwyn's voice, although not all that demanding, bore twice as much threat as Mint's shouting or Trap Master's profanity.

"Kirielle restrain Narcius." He commanded.

Still fresh from a bout of mad giggling, the dark haired woman hooked an arm around the angry pyromaniac's left elbow. The slightest hint of red dusted the man's cheeks as his voice faltered. The most powerful of the three nodded in satisfaction and approached, rather, floated over to the furious ex-royal.

"You two should get dry. We shall be awaiting your presence at tonight's dinner." The man informed them, not once opening his eyes.

"I've got mah' eyes on 'ya pretty boy." Narcius managed to squeeze in before the trio vanished in a flash of pale blue light. Deep down, everyone knew that he was a good person and acted only to protect the people he considered to be his friends.

Once again, Rue was left standing alone with Mint on the ship's abused deck.

At once finding the strength to stand, the youth walked over to set a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down as well. She was busy brushing off the ashes from the burns left on her clothes by the short lived battle.

"I guess he's right." He told her.

Rue slowly walked forward to take hold of the Arc Edge's handle. His weapon was still standing with its sharp edge wedged into the splintered wood of the damaged floor.

Now that the danger was over, it was oddly amusing to note how some things didn't seem to change with Mint, even after she had gone missing for years. She still was, and always will be, one hell of a fighter. Of that he was sure.

With an audible sigh, the young man surveyed the totaled upper deck of the ship.

His hat was hanging on what was left of the wooden railing the girl had been leaning on before he approached her. It must have gotten caught there in the confusion of the explosion. Much to Rue's relief, its yellow ribbons were only slightly singed. Sadly, the same could not be said for the wreckage left in Mint's and Narcius' wake.

"It's a wonder you two didn't end up sinking us all." He found a little humor in that awkward realization.

His beloved hat back, safely atop his head, Rue then carefully maneuvered over the great hole in the middle of the floor to the girl's side.

"Um, how are we going to pay for all this damage Mint?" he dared to ask.

"Shouldn't you be asking me something else?"

"Uh…" he didn't know how to answer that.

Mint shook her head, holding both arms out to her side in a shrug as she did so. She then put her Magic Power to use with a combination of the whirlwind spell and red magic to 'blow dry' Rue and herself. A heavy silence hung around the two, whispering doubts and second thoughts into their pink tinged ears.

Even the simple task of drying themselves off seemed like the most sacred of rituals – as if the warm wind was trying to blow away more than just the cold saltwater still dripping from their clothes.

"Hey Mint?" Rue chose to begin.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving me back there."

Finally deciding to keep away the Dual Haloes, the ex-princess gave her silver-haired prince a smile – the first real one in months.

"_Hell would freeze over before I let anything take you away from me again." _The girl thought, shaking her head once more to dismiss the dark memories of her lonely past. The honest smile on her lips melted into a much more mischievous and familiar scheming smirk.

"Pssh, like I'd let you get away and leave me hanging with that sloppy kiss." She teased.

The response she got from Rue was all the girl needed to know that he was truly unharmed. It affirmed that she had not lost him before she could even begin to call him her own – something she had wanted for so long.

Blushing just as much as her friend, maybe soon to be something more, the girl took the other's hand and proceeded to drag her mortified partner back to the inviting warmth inside – to their prepared dinner.

"Forget about the damn ship, I've got loads of more important stuff to discuss with you. That, and a certain jerk owes the both of us an apology." Mint said.

"…and it looks like I'm gonna owe Maya for more than just that cannon orb too…" Rue thought he heard Mint mumble as he obediently allowed her to lead him into a new life -a new relationship with each other.

It was a whole new adventure just as he had promised, rather, been blackmailed into, and try as he might he couldn't stop smiling as he finally understood the emotions he could barely fathom before. It seems the runaway princess had managed to knock more than just a little sense into him all those years ago.

_He was in love._

And at last, he was content.

**~Owari~**


End file.
